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You are here: Home / Blog / Dying to work

Dying to work

Dan Cullum · May 18, 2021 ·

Today the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation released results from the first global study on the relationship between long working hours and the loss of life and health.

In summary, “working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.”

Official studies and reports are characteristically understated. But these numbers are insane. And robust too: the study is based on synthesised “data from 37 studies on ischemic heart disease covering more than 768 000 participants, and 22 studies on stroke covering more than 839 000 participants.”

I’ve previously spent time in industries where pulling long hours was seen as a badge of honour, but the evidence is clear: working too much can kill you.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom from the WHO summarises it well, “No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers.”

If you find yourself regularly working more than what the data says is healthy, what are you going to do about it?

See the WHO’s summary here, and the full report here.

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